Carbon footprint : Let’s plant trees !

As you already know, Phima Voyages is a travel agency committed to responsible and rural tourism. We obtained the Travelife Certification for Travel Agencies in November 2019.

A common point in responsible tourism is carbon emissions for long-haul flights. So, to reduce the carbon footprint of our customers, we decided to support reforestation in our region and plant trees.

With each reservation, you support reforestation at ACP Milpuj. You adopt a tree in your name!

How to lower our carbon emissions as travelers, but also from our travel agency perspective?

Do not use the aircraft for short breaks or short trips. Whenever possible, move in carpooling or Blablacar, by bus or train, but avoid flights. The trip will certainly last longer, it probably will not come back cheaper, but it is a committed act.

If you take a long-haul flight, consider a longer holiday. 15 or 21 days days will allow you to know your host country and really change your mind.

Privilege direct flights! Airplanes burn kerosene, especially during take-off and ascent to cruising altitude. As a result, journeys with several connections consume even more kerosene and emit more carbon.

Use airlines that engage in more responsible transportation and test for example biofuels.

And last, but not least: Use a carbon offset program!

In fact, using a compensation program – we were interested in it, but …

But nothing we liked – too impersonal, too expensive, too far from our field of action which is Peru and especially, the north of Peru!

So we decided to do it our own way – and to partner with our friend Perico from Milpuj’s Private Conservation Area (ACP), in the Amazonas region to help reforest the area of its nature reserve.

ACP Milpuj – who are we talking about ?

Perico and his mother Lola have been involved for years in the conservation of fauna and flora. We can say that they are among the forerunners of responsible tourism in the region! For this, they had declared their property as a Private Conservation Area.

Since then they have built very nice guest rooms, in harmony with nature, they produce honey from tara (a native tree of the region, the family of acacias), have their own vegetable garden and raise organic hens.

Reforestation of their 70-hectare property is a big responsibility for them. And reforestation is expensive!

How does reforestation work?

In short, reforestation means replanting trees, where they have been torn or burned. Until here, it’s simple 🙂

But planting a tree is not that easy ! Be aware that a tree is more likely to survive if it is already a more robust tree, so an older one. But of course, these trees are more expensive than small shoots.

What does this mean ?

Perico has created his own nursery to grow small tree plants. But he also gets small trees from the surrounding ACPs.

We must take into consideration all the care that must be given to the small trees. It must be regularly treated to water and protected from diseases. Many shoots do not survive.

One could of course buy or replant an already larger tree that is more likely to take root and survive. But in this case, the purchase is more expensive or the nursery phase is prolonged and costs money too.

In both cases it is necessary to take into account

the actions of replanting the small tree in the nursery or

to buy the tree and bring it back to the ACP and

finally to plant it at its final location (ie a person who will bring it to its future location, dig the hole, put the tree and water it).

Our partnership with ACP Milpuj

The idea came up to support the reforestation of ACP Milpuj instead of carbon offsetting programs that did not seem very appropriate to our size and vision.

From now on and for every booking for 2020 and beyond, we will plant a tree at Perico and Lola. By supporting them, we can see progress every year and we work with trusted people.

With your booking you automatically adopt a tree in the region Amazonas!

How will our partnership work?

For each reservation confirmed, we will plant a tree at Perico, more precisely: If you are 2 travelers, we will plant 1 tree. If you are a family of 4, we will plant 2 trees!

Once your reservation is confirmed, Perico will prepare an adoption certificate in your name, as well as a stone plaque with your name next to “your” tree. Once the tree is planted, you will receive the photo by email. (For information, the best season to plant is between October and March, during the rainy season.)

If you’re traveling to the Amazonas region, you can even take the time to plant your tree yourself and have your souvenir photos!

We just think that this way we can counteract the carbon emissions of our travelers and keep the human aspect that is very dear to us.

How much does reforestation a tree cost?

Perico estimates that the cost for replanting a tree is around 50 soles. This includes

Nursery care

Planting

Care until the tree can survive alone (about 3 to 5 years)

Let’s recap: You book a trip with Phima Voyages, and we automatically plant a tree in your name at ACP Milpuj.

But – you can also decide to adopt a tree at Perico, without traveling with us!

Other possible commitments than reforestation to ACP Milpuj

Do you prefer to engage in the protection of endemic animals in the area instead of reforestation? This is absolutely possible!

For more than three years now, Perico has been watching wild fauna on his property with a dozen hidden cameras (thanks to donations from nature-loving friends). Among other things, he was able to observe the existence of the leopard Colo Colo, a species little studied until now and seriously threatened with extinction.

Regularly Colo Colo is jostled by cars during the dry season when it comes out of the Nature Reserve to go to the river to drink. A local resident recently brought one of these dead Colo Colo leopards to Perico. He is doing stuffing to expose it later in his future interpretation center and raise awareness of the population.

To protect the leopards, Perico wants to build water bodies in strategic places. So he could prevent Colo Colos cross the road. The water will be used to give not only water to the animals, but also to the surrounding plants.

The program plans to install a water tank (which would fill with rainwater). Through pipes the water reaches a kind of well where animals can drink.

If you want to participate in this initiative as part of your booking (rather than reforestation), of course, Perico will also give you a certificate for your contribution.

While waiting to accumulate the economic resources necessary to start the work, Perico will make keychains in the form of a small leopard plush to sell them.